Russian JCC workers attacked

Three people were detained in an attack on two workers at a Russian Jewish community center.

Three days earlier the center in Tula, about 90 miles south of Moscow, had been vandalized with swastikas and neo-Nazi phrases.

The suspects in Sunday’s attack, including one carrying a shovel, were charged with belonging to a nationalist group, according to the Russian Jewish Congress.

On May 8, the vandals painted such phrases as “Glory to Hitler” and “Russia for the Russians,” a common rallying cry for nationalist groups.

“Those who hate Jews have desecrated the memory of millions of people who died in the fight with Nazi Germany,” the RJC said in a statement.

The organization chastised local officials for a slow response to the vandalism. It also cited local news reports that police tried to prevent journalists from recording the graffiti as officers tried to clean it.